WRAL Cites NCTracks Problems

I did not write this. I am cutting and copying from WRAL. This was on the 5:30pm news today, August 1, 2013:

RALEIGH, N.C. — More than 400 medical providers in North Carolina attended a training seminar in Raleigh on Thursday to learn how to use a new statewide billing system for Medicaid called NCTracks.

Some providers attending the session said the state owes them as much as $130,000 in claim, since the $480 million system was rolled out to users on July 1.

NCTracks, which replaces a 35-year-old computer system, uses different identification numbers for various products and services than the old processing system, and the billing software some providers use isn’t compatible with the new numbering system.

That is forcing providers to manually enter claims into the state system one by one instead of submitting dozens in a single batch.

Another issue keeping providers from getting paid is that they have not updated their electronic fund transfer information in the new system.

“We just feel like this could have been better implemented, because, if we don’t have money to pay our staff, we can’t provide a service for our patients,” said Teresa Oudeh, an administrator at Oudeh Medical Plaza in Dunn. “We just think it’s unreasonable and outrageous.”

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services predicted a rough transition when it launched the NCTracks, but spokesman Brad Deen said he’s not sure what could have been done differently.

The system has processed claims totaling about $38 million for approximately 900 providers without any problems, he said.

Prior to launching NCTracks, DHHS held training seminars across the state from April to June. At the Raleigh session, about 20 people attended.

“We sent emails. We sent individual letters. We held training sessions, which were lightly attended,” Deen said. “The only thing to do is what we’re doing now, which is to bring people up to speed.”

In recent weeks, DHHS has set up a call service center for providers, some of whom have said they have had to wait hours on the phone only to find that the service representative doesn’t have an answer for their questions.

“When you call to get answers, they cannot provide you with the correct answer,” said Christy McCartney, with Triangle Physicians for Women in Cary. “Every time you call, you get a different answer. So the folks who are supposed to tell us what to do, don’t know what to do.”

Since then, DHHS has hired more staff and extended call center hours.

It also has put in place a response team of 20 people to identify and reach out to providers not getting paid to resolve the problems.

Deen said DHHS is also planning future seminars across the state, but he couldn’t say when.

“We are doing everything we can to make sure people have the information they need to file claims successfully and get paid,” he said.

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Knicole C. Emanuel

Knicole C. Emanuel is an attorney at Potomac Law Group in Raleigh, NC where she concentrates on Medicare and Medicaid regulatory compliance litigation. See legal disclaimer @ "About Knicole."
Follow her on Twitter at @medicaidlawnc.